One Republican and one Democrat sign laws mandating parental consent for abortion

The governors of Indiana and West Virginia both signed legislation last week that will make it more difficult for women under 18 years of age to access abortion. The laws requires minors to get parental consent before undergoing the procedure.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement strongly opposing these and other restrictions on adolescent access to abortion care because of the well-documented adverse health and social consequences of such laws,” reports Rewire.

The fact that both a Republican (Indiana) and a Democrat (West Virginia) signed these bills despite the overwhelming public health and medical evidence against them and despite the social costs and human rights concerns for teens “shows that Aa,” argue Laura Huss and Jodi Jacobson.

“Parental consent laws represent a solution to a problem that does not exist and are thinly veiled efforts to erect higher barriers to timely abortion care,” insist Huss and Jacobson.

While most adolescents do involve parents and other adults when deciding about abortion, often voluntarily, notes the AAP, there is no evidence to suggest that “forced disclosure results in improved parent-child relationships, improved communication, or improved satisfaction with the decision about the pregnancy outcome.”